


Kathy

by fairietailed



Series: Klance Parent AU [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: M/M, Other, and his name spelled right, in which keith just wants his coffee, the kid au everyone deserves honestly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-18
Updated: 2016-07-18
Packaged: 2018-07-24 17:28:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7516972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fairietailed/pseuds/fairietailed
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Kathy?”</p><p>Lance looks up from the doodle he’s drawing on Keith’s current cup, feigning innocence.</p><p>“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”</p><p>Keith lets out a half-laugh. “You wrote ‘Kathy’ on my cup the other day. That’s not even close to my name.”</p><p>“Did I?” Lance asks, “Ah, I must have mistaken you for someone else.”</p><p>“Or you’ve just run out of options and are too scared to admit it,” Keith says.</p><p>“I don’t think so.” Lance smiles, and Keith can feel the tips of his ears turn red.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I blame the group chat.
> 
> This child AU is the fuel that keeps me going.

“Large black coffee?”

Keith gathers his things off of the table he’s sitting at, making his way across the shop to take his coffee from the barista.

He’s tall, leaning across the counter and grinning at Keith, coffee cup hanging lazily from one hand. His brown hair is ruffled, sticking out at odd angles as he runs his free hand through it. He straightens up when Keith makes it to the counter, handing over his cup and winking.

“Thanks! Come back soon, yeah?” 

Keith nods a bit dumbly.

_ He’s handsome _ , he thinks, and he thanks him before he leaves.

He gets halfway down the street before he sees his name scribbled on the cup.

“.. Kieth?”

* * *

He comes back two days later, the same barista greeting him when he walks through the door. Keith clears his throat as he approaches the counter.

“A large black coffee, please.”

“Awesome! Alright. And what’s the name for that?”

_ He has pretty eyes, _ Keith thinks, but ignores the thought and says instead-

“Keith. K-e-i-t-h.”

“Dude, I think I know how to spell Keith,” the barista says, laughing. “It’s not that hard a name, you know.”

“Well you spelt it wrong the last time I came in so I just thought I should let you know-” Keith looks at his nametag, “-Lance.”

Lance frowns.

“I’m pretty sure I spelt it right.”

“No, you spelt it with an ‘ie’ instead of an ‘ei’,” Keith says.

“Yeah, ‘i before e except after c’.”

“Unless it’s my name,” Keith crosses his arms. “Then it’s ‘ei’.”

“Whatever,” Lance says, though his cheeks turn a bit pink. “Your coffee will be done in a minute.”

Keith goes to pick up his coffee five minutes later, the name “Keeth” scribbled on the front of the cup, along with a triumphant grin from Lance.

* * *

The next day he picks up a coffee for Keef.

The day after that, one for Kith.

The next day it’s Keth.

Kiethhhh.

Keith-a-tron.

Keethy-poo.

Keith-a-licious.

Almost a month later Keith knows that options are running low when he receives a ”Katie”, scribbled onto his cup in near desperation to find something good.

“You’re running out of names,” he says to Lance one day, smirking at him from across the counter. He leans on the register, propping up his chin with his knuckles. “Maybe you should just give up.”

Lance’s cheeks turn pink, and he busies himself with straightening up the cups under the counter as a way to avoid eye contact. “No way, man. I’m just getting started.”

“Sure,” Keith says, and then: “I’ll have the usual.”

* * *

Two months later Keith stands in front of Lance, arms crossed, eyebrow raised.

“Kathy?”

Lance looks up from the doodle he’s drawing on Keith’s current cup, feigning innocence.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Keith lets out a half-laugh. “You wrote ‘Kathy’ on my cup the other day. That’s not even close to my name.”

“Did I?” Lance asks, “Ah, I must have mistaken you for someone else.”

“Or you’ve just run out of options and are too scared to admit it,” Keith says.

“I don’t think so.” Lance smiles, and Keith can feel the tips of his ears turn red.

* * *

A week later it’s nothing but variations of the name Kathy.

Kit-Kath.

Kathmandu.

“Kitty-Kath?” Keith asks, holding up his cup and holding back a laugh. It’s scribbled next to a crudely drawn cat with fluffy fur, and Lance grins at him triumphantly.

“Yeah! Because your hair is pretty and fluffy.”

Keith snorts a bit. “That’s just dumb.”

“Whatever you say!” Lance grins, going back to cleaning the counters as Keith leaves the shop.

He asks Allura later that night if his hair is pretty, and she laughs a bit before asking why.

“Because someone told me that it was,” he says, and he can feel the tips of his ears turning red again.

* * *

A month later he receives a cup with the name Keith on it, and is stunned into silence.

“Thanks,” Lance says as he passes the cup across the counter. “Come again.”

“What,” Keith asks, “Did you run out of names or something?”

“Ah,” Lance lets out an awkward laugh, avoiding eye contact. “Not particularly, no. Just not feeling it I guess.”

He doesn’t give Keith any nicknames for nearly a month.

* * *

“Have dinner with me next week.”

It’s more of a statement than a question. Lance looks up from the coffee he’s pouring, nearly dropping the pot in surprise.

“I- what?”

Keith stuffs his hands into the pocket of his jacket, clearing his throat as he looks anywhere but at Lance.

“I just- ah, uh, do you want to go to dinner with me? Like, sometime. You know. If you want.”

This time Lance  _ does _ drop the coffee pot, and it clatters onto the countertop in front of him. He scrambles to clean it up, his face red.

“O-oh! Well, uh... Wow,” He’s a stuttering mess, and he knows it, but it all comes flooding out anyway with no filter to stop him. “Wow. I would... but-”

“But?” Keith’s face falls a bit, and Lance feels like he’s taken a punch to the gut.

“But I don’t... I don’t date, exactly.”

Keith’s face changes from disappointment to confusion.

“You don’t date?”

“Yeah, uh,” Lance wipes spilled coffee off of the counter, straightening out the coffee pot. “I don’t really date. Busy guy, ya know? Stuff to do. Don’t have the time, really.”

“Oh,” Keith says, confusion growing. “Okay. Well... Forget I said anything then.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to!” Lance says quickly, waving his arms frantically and practically vaulting over the counter. “I just... Can’t.”

“It’s cool,” Keith says, swiping his coffee cup off of the counter and backing toward the door. “I get it.”

“I just-” Lance starts, but is cut off by the bell hung above the door. Keith is gone before he can say anything else, and he curses to himself as he refills the coffee machine with more grounds.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They walk to Keith’s classroom in silence, the girl pouting as she shuffles her feet beside him. He attempts to make small talk.
> 
> “What’s your name?”
> 
> “Kathy,” the girl says, and Keith nods as he pushes open a door leading to a hallway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kathy is a gift that needs to be treasured.
> 
> Set almost 8 years after chapter one.

“ Kieta el stupido elephante!”

Keith freezes on his way to the teacher’s lounge, turning toward the monkey bars across the playground.

“I don’t even know what that means!”

“It means you’re  _ ugly _ and  _ stupid _ and that you should  _ shut up _ , that’s what it means!!”

He sighs, making his way across the blacktop and stopping in front of the two children arguing. One of the kids - a boy, looking quite scared and slightly frustrated - stops yelling as soon as Keith stops in front of them.

The other, though - a girl, with shoulder-length brown hair pulled into twin braids and a fire in her eyes that most likely explains the boy’s frightened expression - doesn’t back down. She ignores Keith entirely, taking another half a step forward and getting right in the nose of the boy she’s arguing with.

“You’re lucky I don’t beat you up, right here and now. If Mr. Kogane wasn’t here I’d totally own you.”

“But Mr. Kogane  _ is _ here,” Keith says, slightly impressed by the girl’s determination. “And he isn’t okay with you beating up anyone. Come on. We’re gonna call your parents.”

“Fine,” the girl says, stepping back and frowning at the boy. She makes the “I’m watching you” gesture in the boy’s direction, who in turn shrinks back another half an inch. Keith tries not to laugh.

They walk to Keith’s classroom in silence, the girl pouting as she shuffles her feet beside him. He attempts to make small talk.

“What’s your name?”

“Kathy,” the girl says, and Keith nods as he pushes open a door leading to a hallway.

“So then, Kathy, what did this kid do exactly?” He asks, and tries even harder not to laugh as she lets out a noise of frustration.

“He... Okay, it’s dumb. But you can’t make fun of me,” she says, jabbing a tiny finger in his direction.

“I won’t,” Keith says, holding his hands up in mock-surrender.

“He- Ugh. He made fun of my shoes.”

Keith hums, stuffing his hands into his pockets. “So you’re gonna beat him up for it?”

“You wouldn’t get it,” the girl says, frowning. “You just wouldn’t, okay? So just forget it.”

“Try me,” Keith says, and the girl lets out another noise of frustration, running her hands down her face.

“Well it’s like this,” she says as they round a corner, stopping in front of Keith’s classroom. He pushes the door open and she blows right past him, already explaining her annoyance. “My dad bought me these shoes. And they’re  _ cool  _ shoes! Don’t you think?”

She hops onto a desk, sticking her foot out in front of her, twisting her ankle in circles to show her shoes off better. Keith nods, crossing his arms and leaning against his desk.

“Yeah, I know. They totally are. So my dad bought these for me, and he got them for me for my birthday. And they’re  _ cool _ .”

“So you’ve said,” Keith nods again, and the girl throws her arms into the air.

“ _ Well?! _ They are! So I’m gonna say it a million times!”

“Makes sense.”

“I know! And so this kid came up to me today while I was on the monkey bars. And he told me that I needed to get off the monkey bars. So I asked why. And he said because he was playing some stupid game and that he needed the  _ whole _ monkey bars or something? So I told him no.”

“Naturally.”

“Yeah! Who needs the entire monkey bars? What kind of game  _ uses _ the monkey bars? So I told him no and he got all mad, and he pushed me. And then he said that I was dumb. And that my shoes were ugly.”

“He just zoned right onto your shoes, huh?”

Kathy shrugs, pulling her knee to her chest and resting her foot on the edge of the desk. She wipes a spot of dirt off of the front of her shoe, sighing.

“Well I’ve been talking about them all day. My friend Izzy was asking about them this morning and then my other friend Alex and even Casey from the class next door. They’re cool shoes. What can I say?”

Keith nods, pushing off of his desk and moving to his chair. “So you were gonna beat him up then, huh?”

“Yeah,” Kathy says, entirely casual as she leans back in the desk. “He’s a bully. I’m not just gonna let him get away with that.”

“You think you could take him?”

She scoffs. “I  _ know _ I could take him. That kid looked like he weighed like, 10 pounds. I could have taken him on in my sleep and won.”

“Well good for you.”

“Thanks,” she says, hopping off of the desk and making her way to the door of the classroom. “Now that this whole technicality is taken care of, then, I’m gonna head out. Izzy and I were gonna play some handball.”

“Oh, you can’t leave yet,” Keith says, picking up his phone and holding it in front of him. The girl’s face pales.

“What? But you said he deserves it!”

“Well I never really said that,” Keith shrugs. “Plus, even if I did think he deserves it, that doesn’t mean you can get away with it. We’re still calling your parents.”

Kathy’s jaw drops, and she panics.

“N-no! No, listen, you  _ can’t _ call my dad. Please. I’ll apologize. I’ll never threaten to beat anyone up ever again. Just don’t call my dad.”

Keith holds the phone out in her direction, dial pad in facing her.

“Dial.”

* * *

One phone call and 20 minutes later, Kathy sits in front of Keith’s desk, arms crossed as she glares at him.

Keith doesn’t bother looking up from the papers he’s grading.

“Glaring at me isn’t going to make the problem go away.”

“No,” Kathy says, “But it will remind you of how much I hate you.”

“It’s not my fault that you threatened another kid.”

“Sure, but it  _ is _ your fault that I’m going to get in trouble.”

“No it’s not.”

“Yes it is.”

Keith resists the urge to continue their argument.

“At least make yourself useful and, I dunno, straighten out the desks or something,” he says instead, motioning around the classroom. The girl sighs, settling farther into her chair rather than standing up.

“No.”

“Fine,” Keith sighs. “Then pout in silence until your dad gets here.”

She isn’t silent for long.

“Listen, maybe you can tell my dad that this was all a mistake? I’m sure we can work something out.”

Keith laughs a bit. “This isn’t a negotiation. Why are you so desperate for it to be one, anyway?”

Kathy sighs. “Because I’m most likely going to be grounded. Get my TV privileges taken away. Maybe he’ll even make me miss Izzy’s birthday party on Saturday... I can’t afford that kind of social suicide! It’s the biggest party of the school year.”

“An 8 year old’s birthday party is the biggest of the year?” Keith asks, and the girl across from him scoffs.

“Not just  _ any _ 8 year old.  _ Izzy _ . She always has the coolest parties. Her mom gets a jumper house like, every year. She always sends home super sweet goodie bags. And I hear this year there’s going to be a pony.”

Keith nods, slightly impressed.

“Alright, that does sound like a cool party.”

“See what I mean?” She says, panic seeping into her voice. “I can’t afford to miss that!”

“Well let’s hope that your dad doesn’t make you miss it then.”

“You’re still going through with this?!”

“I have to, it’s my job.”

“Well your job is stupid and so are you.”

“Kathy!”

A voice calls out from the door of the classroom, and Kathy’s head snaps up in panic.

“Dad!” Kathy panics, squirming a bit in her chair and pulling on one of her braids. “Look, okay, this is totally just a big misunderstanding-”

“What did she do this time?” Her dad asks, bypassing a babbling Kathy and heading straight for Keith. He looks tired, his brown hair sticking out at odd angles as he runs his fingers through it. He drops into a chair next to his daughter, looking at her out of the corner of his eye to get her to stay quiet.

_ He looks familiar _ , Keith thinks, but pushes the thought aside in favor of saying-

“Your daughter threatened to beat up another kid today, Mr. McClain.”

Kathy’s dad sighs, looking at Kathy and crossing his arms.

“Why?”

“He made fun of my shoes, Papa!” She cries. “And he pushed me! It was self-defense.”

Kathy’s father looks at Keith, seeming to contemplate the best form of action.

“I mean, she didn’t  _ actually _ beat him up, did she?”

“Mr. McClain-”

“Lance.”

“What?”

“Call me Lance,” Kathy’s dad waves a hand. “I don’t really care about formalities.”

“Ah,” Keith says, slightly frowning. “Okay then. You can call me Keith.”

Something in Lance’s expression changes.

“Keith!” He says loudly, sitting a bit straighter and running his hands through his hair again. “Hi there! Hello!”

“Uh, okay,” Keith says, slightly more confused than he was half a minute ago. “Hi. Thanks for... introducing yourself? Anyway, even though your daughter didn’t  _ technically _ beat up this kid, she still threatened it. And while she’s not going to get detention or expelled, we’d still like to encourage you to talk to her about maybe... uh...  _ not... _ threatening other students.”

Lance nods a bit too quickly, standing and picking Kathy up off of her chair.

“Very good! That makes sense! Yep. Sounds great! A-okay.”

“Uh, Papa,” Kathy squirms a bit in his arms, but he doesn’t let go. Keith raises an eyebrow in confusion. “I still have another half a day of school-”

“It’s fine!” Lance says loudly, backing toward the door and kicking it open with his foot. “We have things to do! Thanks Katie-  _ I mean! -  _ Keith! Keith-a-tron. Yep! Keith. A-okay. I’ll have a talk with her  _ okay bye!” _

The door closes behind him, and Keith is left staring at the peeling paint and posters of cats with words of encouragement.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Kathy sets her dad up on a date.

A week later, Kathy comes to visit him.

She knocks on his door and comes in immediately after, letting out a sigh and folding her arms behind her head as she does.

“Mister Kogaaaane!”

Keith looks up from his computer, frowning. “What are you doing here?”

“That’s kind of mean, sir,” Kathy says, hopping onto a desk and leaning back a bit. “I just came to say hello.”

“Okay, then?”

Kathy’s silent for a minute, kicking her feet back and forth and humming. She clears her throat, and Keith looks up from the papers he’s grading.

“I was also wondering if you liked coffee.”

“I- what?”

Kathy smiles at him. “I wanna know if you like coffee!”

“Why?”

“Because!”

“That’s not- Kathy, that’s not an answer when someone asks you why.”

“Just answer.”

“Why?”

“Because!”

“Why??”

“Because!”

“Kathy!” Keith sets down his pen, letting his forehead drop onto the table in exasperation. “Just.... Tell me why you want to know.”

Kathy rolls her eyes, letting her head fall back to stare at the ceiling.

“Because it’s a surprise. And I’ll tell you if you tell _me_.”

Keith sighs, lifting his head.

“Fine. Yeah, coffee’s alright.”

“You just like it plain, huh? Nothing in it.”

Keith raises an eyebrow. Kathy continues, lowering her voice as if imitating someone.

“‘Large black coffee. Nothing in it. Every day. And he would be kind of grumpy when he first came in, but then he would smile at me when he ordered and he’d run his fingers through his dumb mullet and ruffle it up a bit and it was just really cute. And then I’d give him some dumb nickname and he’d call me dumb and then he’d take his coffee and leave. Every day, until your mom told me that she was pregnant with you.’” Kathy smiles, letting her head loll to the side to stare at Keith, eyes practically shining. “I haven’t heard Papa so excited since before Mom left. You must have been pretty important.”

It’s silent for a moment. Keith’s mind moves a mile a minute, taking in what Kathy’s said and piecing it together. The coffee, the nicknames-

The nicknames.

_The nicknames._

Lance.

Keith’s heart nearly falls through the floor.

“You... Lance... He...”

“Calm down, Mr. Kogane,” Kathy says, laughing. She hops off the desk. “You might hurt yourself thinking so hard.”

“Well excuse me for having a mild existential crisis over this,” Keith says, letting his head fall back onto his desk.

“I’m not sure what that means,” Kathy says in a very matter-of-fact voice, “but there’s no real need to freak out. Dad still likes you. He wouldn’t shut up about you yesterday after we left the school.”

Keith feels the tips of his ears heat up. “Really?”

“Yeah,” Kathy sighs, leaning against Keith’s desk and imitating Lance for a second time. “‘He was really funny, when he wanted to be. Most of the time he just made grumpy faces though.’ ‘His hair was really pretty. I guess that hasn’t changed though.’ ‘I actually called him Kathy once. That was funny. That’s where I got the idea for your name, actually, because I came up with some hilarious nicknames after that and was too excited to let that opportunity pass me by.’”

She makes a face, looking at Keith. “That one was kind of weird to hear. Thanks for giving me my name, I guess.”

“He still thinks my hair is pretty?” Keith asks, and Kathy rolls her eyes again.

“Okay that’s enough of that. If you want to find out any more than just call him.”

“I can’t just-”

“Here’s his phone number,” she says, pulling a piece of paper from her pocket and slapping it onto the desk. “I had dad write it down for me this morning ‘in case i forgot it’. So don’t let it go to waste, because I might actually end up forgetting it and this is the only piece of paper I have with his phone number on it. So if I can’t call my dad because I gave you this paper, then it’s all your fault.”

Keith laughs, his heart beating half a second faster as he stares at the phone number in front of him.

“You know,” he says, looking up at Kathy. “You look and act so much like him it’s amazing I didn’t remember sooner.”

“I’m not surprised. Papa says it’s been 8 years.” Kathy pushes herself off of his desk, flipping her hair over her shoulder and backing up toward the door. “Besides, I’m a lot prettier than Papa is.”

Keith laughs again as she backs out the door, and he shakes his head as he picks up his phone and dials the number written on the scrap of paper on his desk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for your comments and interest and love for this fic!!!
> 
> There will definitely be so much more of this AU! We have plenty of one-shots and art lined up! We're all so glad that you like this AU and we hope you continue to enjoy it!!

**Author's Note:**

> [LOOK AT THIS AMAZING ART](http://craigg.co.vu/post/147575587123/doodle-4-fairietailed-s-fic-you-should-all-read)
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> [AND THIS ONE PLUS ANOTHER AMAZING ONE SHOT](http://fluffy-klance.tumblr.com/post/147562523730/i-doodled-kathy-fan-made-child-of-keith-and)


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